Steam iron aims to remove wrinkles of clothes or fabrics through heat. It is widely used in houses and businesses. The steam iron ejects steam during ironing the clothes. Compared with the traditional iron there is no need to spray moisture. Moreover, the ejected steam can protect the clothes from being damaged by the high temperature of the iron. In addition, the steam can quickly penetrate inside the fibers of the clothes and heat evenly so that the fibers can be rearranged to form a desired shape. References of steam iron can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,935,056, 6,438,876, 6,079,133, 5,642,579 and publication No. 20070102414. They mostly have an iron body with a steam chamber inside to generate steam which is delivered to at least one steam output vent and discharged to clothes to be ironed.
The steam, aside from ironing clothes or fabrics through the steam iron, can also serve dirt removing function, such as a steam cleaner. The conventional steam cleaner can be divided into portable steam cleaner and detachable steam cleaner. The portable steam cleaner is compact and easier to use. References can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,536,379, 6,490,753 and 6,484,347. They generally have a water reservoir located in a body and a pump to deliver water in the water reservoir to a heating means. The water is heated to become steam to be ejected through a nozzle. The detachable steam cleaner, such as one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,183, has a bigger size than the portable one, and mainly has a water reservoir and a heating means located respectively in a chassis and a cleaning tool that are connected through a flexible hose. Water held in the water reservoir is sent to the heating means through the hose to be heated into steam. The steam is discharged through a steam vent formed on the cleaning tool. Oil stains and dirt smears on the surface of targeted articles can be easily removed by the high temperature steam generated by the steam cleaner without adding chemical agents. As it does not create environmental pollution and is harmless to human body, it is well accepted on the market.
While the devices mentioned above all perform functions through steam, different devices have to be used for different applications. It is not desirable in terms of convenience or economy. Some techniques have been proposed to address this issue, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,051,462 and 6,711,840. They propose a combined steam cleaner and steam iron. They have a steam generation unit located on a chassis to be selectively coupled with a steam cleaning unit or a steam iron unit. The steam cleaning unit or the steam iron unit performs cleaning or ironing through steam generated by the steam generation unit. The steam is transported through a duct. The steam is easily condensed to become water or a lower quality steam of a higher water content in the duct. As a result, the clothes being treated are easily damped. Moreover, the steam cleaning unit or the steam iron unit is a separated element. Total size is bulky and not easy to carry or move. It is also difficult to be stored in a small room. This creates a cluttered environment or makes tidying of the environment difficult.